


Voracious

by AlphaOmegaTartarus



Category: Warframe
Genre: ...is it cannibalism if it's a Warframe, Blood and Gore, Cannibalism, I aim to fix that, Second Dream Spoilers, Spoilers, i noticed this fandom has a significant lack of grendel, this will be my collection of Grendel one-shots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-22
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2021-02-18 00:15:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21518776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlphaOmegaTartarus/pseuds/AlphaOmegaTartarus
Summary: definition; wanting or devouring great quantities of food.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1

Clatter.

Scamper.

Run.

Run.

_Run._

Stomp.

Stomp.

Stompstompstompstomp _stompstompstomp **stompstompstOMPSTOMPSTOMP--**_

Trip.

"Augh!"

Whine.

Beg.

"Please, nononooooooooooooAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQUEENSHELPME--"

Split.

Shriek.

Break.

Shatter.

Rip.

Tear.

Munch.

Munch.

Munch.

_Devour_.


	2. Chapter 2

"Name and occupation."

"...Fuhns Ahrn, scavver, based on Europa."

"Alright. Describe how you met the...Betrayer. Why did it not attack you on sight."

"Well, uh, it wasn't...in any shape to. Y'see, me and Pa, we were out scavving for good metal, as we are wont to do, when we see this big ol' figure come lumberin' out from the cold mornin' mist. Then we see this big ol' Warf--sorry, _Be-tray-err_ , comin' towards us. Limpin', missing an arm, got no guns or blades to its name. Was uh, quite a fright--damn near black as night, with green, uh, lights all over it. Came outta nowhere in a field of white, like a big ol' boulder of death. Well, Pa--he was raised close to Riddha, and he damned near shouted for joy when he saw this thing. Damn near _insisted_ it came back with us. So, uh, the thing did. Didn't talk, didn't really communicate what-so-ever, but it seemed to know what we's was sayin'. So it follows us back to the hover-sled, and comes with us back home."

A small laugh escaped the barely-a-man. 

"When we came through the airlock with this big ol' thing in tow, it damn near scared Ma half to death. Da explained though, set her straight, told her 'bout what this thing is, what it did back for the good peoples of Riddha. I didn't know squat, but I did hear its name."

""Grendel'. Kinda funny name, don't sound like it mean anything. But whatever."

"So the uh--oh, sorry, _Be-tray-err_ , stays with us for a bit. Helps out lifting heavy stuff--the thing lifted almost as much as Da's old mech did, and it only had one arm--and uh...this is gonna sound weird, alright? It ate our trash."

A snort came from the Corpus interrogation officer.

"Nah nah I'm being completely serious here, it _ate our trash!_ Just, like, not even with a fork or knife or nothin'. Just lifted up whatever it thought was good eatin's', then its--its stomach just cracked open like a glacier and just _ate the whole damn thing raw_. Scared the Profit outta me, first time I saw it. We brought back some bad metal one trip, and when we's was considerin' what to do with it, ol' Grendel walks on over, points to the metal. Da's confused, I'm confused, but we just stand back..."

"And yeah, it ate through rusted starship armor like it was just, y'know, any other ordinary meal. That damn stomach-mouth just ripped through the metal like a trash compactor goes through an old moa. I swear that thing was always _so hungry--_ "

Then, the officer pipes back up.

"One day, Tech Commander Alator Prubp appears, yes?"

"OH YEAH. That groxhead--"

"He was my superior officer."

"...oh. Yeahsoanyways, one day, some Tech Commander sends us a telecomm, tells us we got twenty-four hours to shove off or we's gettin' shot. Apparently, they didn't like us bein' there. Da and Ma don't know what to do, cuz, y'know, it's just us three against an entire batta-lion of crewmen. Then, we's hearin' a knock on the airlock."

"Tech Commander Alla-torr changed his mind, apparently. Said he wanted us off this rock, _now_. Da's gettin' his gun ready, Ma's with me, we're runnin' for our snow sled when I see Grendel, walkin' towards the airlock."  
  
Silence.

"...Scavenger Fuhns Ahrn, I'm going to need you to describe what happened next--"

"You ever see a kubrodon taking down a varmink?"

"I...cannot say I have, no."

"Kubrodons, they're tough customers. They're not like other animals, y'know. They don't always kill their prey before eatin'. Sometimes, when they's just hungry enough, they'll pounce on their varmink and just eat it _alive_. No neck-snapping, no killin', the varmink feels itself gettin' torn to shreds as it's bein' devoured like some snack."

"...your point?"

"You Corpus boxheads always think that if you point enough guns at somethin', it'll die. Not Grendel, though. Doesn't matter how many plasma bolts you put in it, it's just gonna keep stompin' at you."

"...and what does it do once it reaches its targets, Scavenger Fuhns?"

"...let's just say good ol' Grendel was even hungrier than we thought once its meal knocked on our airlock door."


	3. Chapter 3

His hunger was insatiable, always hungering for the next meal. 

The maw in his torso was eternally gaping, yearning for more sustenance.

His stomach was bottomless, as wide and endless as the star-dotted abyss. 

And yet, despite all he's devoured, all the evil he has consumed, not once has anyone asked _why_ he eats. Why he devours, why he is so insatiable, so gluttonous for the wicked.

All he could remember from...from when he first started remembering, was the hunger. All he knows, deep down, is that he was once a large...man. Not a machine, not this... _this_ , what he is now. He was a man. A large, portly man with a bellowing laugh and meaty hands. 

He can't remember the last time he used "meat" as an adjective to describe something he wasn't about to devour.

That was all he remembered though, from fragments of shattered dreams. Not a face, not what he looked like besides his size and sound, not even his name. 

And then he got brought in by the Empire. All he could remember of that time were two things: the pain, and the hunger.

The pain, as with all sores and aches, eventually faded with time. No salves could fix the constant ache he still has, especially around his mouth. When he eats, though, some of the pain goes away...for a time.

And then there was the hunger itself.

They starved him. He doesn't know that for certain, but that's when the hunger truly began, and he wasn't what he... _is_ , yet. He was still human, and they still starved him. Well. 'Starved' wasn't entirely accurate. 

Other Warframes, they remember the needles, the damned needles the punctured their skin and made them what they are. They can't talk--neither can he--but they share looks. When the Operator's deep in thought, when they're looking away from the mission at hand. Most movements are still impossible, but the tiniest gestures still carry weight. 

He never remembered needles, oddly enough. What he did remember was eating, and eating, and eating. And yet, he never felt satisfied, so he was fed more. Disgusting Infested flesh, bloody and pestilent. The Helminth sample, he was certain he ate that too. 

And then one day, he stopped eating for there was no more food. Until he was pit against the Sentients' forces.

They did taste odd, but not enough for him to stop feeding.

And then, one day, he was...snapped out of it. By Mother--by *Lotus*. The feeding frenzy he had been in for so long, he snapped out of it. He was so hungry, still oh-so-ravenous, but now, he had an appetite for something new.

_Vengeance_.

So he turned around, and began devouring again. This time, he ate his former masters. The Dax, the Executors, anything white with gilded gold that he could get his hands on, he ate. He ate, and ate, and consumption never tasted _so sweet and bloody at the same time_.

Then, one day, he managed to find himself on Europa. And that was when a second realization came, as he stood in the slums of Riddha.

He ate, and ate, but never stopped to wonder if others were hungry, too. 

So this time, after breaking down the manse gates and devouring all of Executor Karishh's guests and guards, he rolled back down to the slums. And from the power he consumed, he gave freely unto the people. He knew all too well the pain of hunger with no release, of simply doing whatever one can to find the next meal. The people of Riddha, they were...grateful. They no longer looked upon him with eyes of distrust or hate as a former tool, but as a savior. A hero of rotund shape and insatiable appetite. 

Then, when his soul felt lighter than his gut ever did, he pursued the Executor into the mountains of Europa. 

The Dax tried to fight, but their steel and flesh made for an excellent appetizer for the main course. Karishh's bunker fortifications made for a palette cleanser, and then, he was ready for the main course.

Karishh screamed, begged for mercy, tried to offer food for life to the Warframe. But Grendel knew that the bulging flesh and twelve digestive exo-sacs of the Executor was not being truthful. While he too was a devourer, he was overrun by greed and gluttony. He kept, and ate, and kept, and ate, and kept more food than even _he_ could possibly eat. 

The Warframe, the tool of war, knew that there would come a day where he will be called upon again to consume armies and empower his allies. So, in preparation for that day, he would hibernate like an old Earth animal in the season of winter.

But to do that, he would need to eat a feast to prepare for the hibernation.

Karissh was a feast fit for kings. But what is a king to one who will fit all the system's starvation in his belly?


End file.
